Caroline's Parents Fight
by luvtheheaven
Summary: Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie are eleven years old. Their innocent and fun conversation is interrupted when Caroline overhears a major fight between her parents. Liz and Bill Forbes are not divorced yet at the time when this oneshot takes place. Enjoy my story, and let me know what you think! ;)


_**Author's Note: **__I originally posted this as chapter 3 of "Family Comes First", a series of oneshots I was posting that were all related to family relationships on the show The Vampire Diaries. I have now decided to re-post each chapter as its own oneshot instead. This way, each story can be categorized on the site with the right characters and maybe more Caroline fans will read this – fans who might never have found what was just categorized as a Stefan/Damon fic before. This oneshot contains no mention at all of Stefan or Damon!_

_I have re-edited what is below, slightly, before re-posting it. I noticed some aspects of my writing from over a year-and-a-half ago that my current self is not satisfied with._

_For the sake of this chapter, Caroline/Bonnie/Elena are all approximately 11 years old and it's end of 2003/beginning of 2004-ish. That keeps in line with the timeline of the show give or take because in 2009/2010 they were all 17... they had 1 school year last 2 whole seasons/2 years of real life time instead of 1, so time kinda gets screwed up… but whatever. Go with it please._

_I'm pretty sure it was never mentioned when exactly Caroline's parents got divorced but she tells Matt in 1x17 "Let the Right One In" that going to her dad's boyfriend's daughter's birthday party is a tradition so it couldn't have been all that recent as of the starting of the show. That's why I'm making it all happen in 2003 or 2004-ish. The last episode that aired as of the time of me writing this was 3x12 "The Ties That Bind". That's as far as I considered for continuity/backstory purposes._

_It happened ages ago, around when I first posted this oneshot in January 2012, but I'd still like to credit WondaGal for beta-ing this chapter! :D Thank you. _

_If you have any questions, let me know. If you notice any problems with my writing, I'd appreciate them being pointed out to me._

_Please enjoy! And don't forget to review. ;)_

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Caroline's Parents Fight

"Is that the new Evanescence CD I got you today?" Caroline asked. She was on the phone and noticed some music playing faintly in the background on the other end of the call. She pressed her ear closer to the receiver in order to listen harder. "It is!"

"Yeah," Bonnie admitted with a slight giggle. She'd just turned eleven years old earlier that day and had enjoyed a wonderful birthday party. "I just really love my gift!"

"And _I_ just really love another one of your gifts!" Elena added from a third phone. "Please remember to thank your dad for us! This three-way-calling thing is so cool!"

They all were wearing pajamas and lying in their beds, trying to talk quietly because even though it was a Saturday night, they were still young and all had bedtimes. They didn't want their parents to know they were awake.

"Elena," Bonnie said, starting a new topic of conversation. "That board game you got me? I opened it up already and read the rules. It looks so cool. We'll all have to play it the next time you both come over, for sure!" Bonnie sounded so excited.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great plan," Elena replied. "I'm so glad you like what I picked out for you! My mom helped," she confessed. "Caroline, are you free tomorrow? Because I was planning on going over to Bonnie's anyway but we need at least three people to play..."

Elena and Bonnie waited for Caroline's response but didn't get one. Caroline was distracted. Her parents were being quite loud. They were clearly fighting, probably forgetting to keep their voices down for their daughter who was supposed to be sleeping.

"I never meant for you to find out this way!"

"Seriously, Bill?! How did you mean for me to find out, me catching you in the act?"

"No, of course not! I was gonna tell you, I swear; I just-"

"Caroline? Caroline"? Bonnie and Elena's voices echoed over top of each other's, wondering what had happened to their friend.

"You just what?! Come on, I mean finding out your husband cheated on you is supposed to be the worst feeling in the world, but _this_? I don't think I can handle this!"

"Liz, sweetheart, please just let me explain!"

"_Don't _you dare call me 'sweetheart'! And explain? You want to fucking _explain_? Come on, you should have told me this the day we _met_!"

Caroline gasped. She had never heard her mother swear like that before. She knew her mom was tough: she was the town sheriff and carried a gun and stuff. But this was shocking.

"Caroline, what is it?" Elena asked.

"Yeah," Bonnie pressed too, also wondering why Caroline had just gasped so audibly.

"Oh. Sorry, guys," Caroline mumbled. "My parents are fighting," she whispered. "I got distracted."

"Why did you gasp like that?" Bonnie asked.

"My mom used the f-word," she practically breathed into the phone.

"Wow," Elena replied. "That's intense. I'm glad I've never heard my parents fighting with words like that."

Caroline heard more yelling going on a few rooms over and desperately wanted to get back to eavesdropping. She was also a little worried about what more she might hear. But she could _not_ contain her curiosity. "Hey, can I call you back tomorrow?" she asked her friends. Elena and Bonnie read her thoughts.

"Of course," Bonnie answered her.

"Yeah, we'll be around," Elena said. Caroline then hung up her phone, slipped on her slippers, and tiptoed over from her bed to her closed bedroom door. She pressed her ear up against the crack in order to hear better.

"Liz, of course I love you. I've always loved you; it's more complicated than that!" Bill seemed to be protesting in an exasperated tone.

"What about our _daughter_, Bill?" Caroline tensed up. "Did you ever think about _her _when you were off with him?"

Caroline was lost. She wasn't sure who this "him" was. And how did _she_ play into this? What had been that thing about cheating that her mom had yelled earlier? She tried to put the pieces together. Could her dad really be cheating on her mom? But if he was, who was the mysterious _guy_ in the equation? If it was her dad who was cheating, it'd be with a woman, not a man. She realized she'd missed a few more sentences of their heated "conversation" and quickly re-focused on her parents.

"Elizabeth, I swear, I never meant to hurt you. This is just who I am." He'd said that last part so quietly that Caroline really had to strain to hear it. He said something else, but Caroline couldn't hear it. It was spoken too softly. So she slowly, carefully, opened her door and tiptoed a bit further so as to hear the rest of the conversation, now that the yelling had died down.

"I'm sorry too," Liz replied, and it seemed like her voice was breaking, like perhaps she was near tears. Caroline realized that her mom didn't sound apologetic, despite the word "sorry" being used. Instead, she sounded very... hurt. Suddenly, Caroline heard the sound of a door closing. She just stood there, frozen right outside of her bedroom, listening as she heard a car engine start in her driveway. She heard her mom's sigh and so she realized it must have been her father who left. Caroline then tried to quietly rush back into her room before being caught awake, but when she shut the door, it made a loud creak. She squinted her eyes shut and crossed her fingers, wishing that her mom didn't hear it. She waited to see if she did.

"Caroline?" her mother called out. _Oh man, _Caroline thought. Obviously her mother had heard it. Still, she ignored her mother and crawled back into her bed. She listened to her mother's footsteps as they approached her bedroom door and Caroline didn't bother to pretend to be sleeping. Her eyes met her mother's as Liz opened the door and entered her daughter's room.

"Sweetie." Liz looked over her daughter carefully and saw that the small girl looked a bit scared.

"Mommy?" Caroline stared back up at her mother, pleading wordlessly for answers to all of her questions. What had they been fighting about? Why did Daddy leave just now? Was this the beginning of something much worse?

"What did you hear?" Liz asked cautiously. She gently sat down on the edge of Caroline's bed and then slowly reached her hand over to stroke her daughter's beautiful blond hair. It was a bit disheveled at the moment, but so silky and soft to the touch.

"I heard some of it," Caroline said. "I'm confused, though. Please, Mommy, just tell me. I'm a big girl; I can handle it," she insisted. "Tell me what you were fighting about."

Liz swallowed and shut her eyes, nodding. When she opened them again to look at her daughter, she still hesitated, but eventually worked up enough strength to be a mother and tell her daughter the facts that the young girl was desperate to hear. For the next few minutes, she was Mommy, not Liz. She would tap into the same ability she had to stay detached while on her job doing difficult things in the role of Sheriff. She took a deep breath and mentally prepared how exactly she would word her first statement.

"Okay. So you know how men and women fall in love?" Caroline nodded. "Well sometimes, people are gay, which means a woman can love a woman, or... a man can love a man." She said the last part a little quicker, trying to get it over with. Why she had to set herself up to use the word "love" like that was beyond her, and Liz berated herself for a moment internally. Caroline was sitting there patiently, waiting for her mom to finish explaining. "In the world, a lot of times people are taught that all men are only supposed to love women. So sometimes, even the men who love other men feel like they have to... pretend to love a woman instead." Liz regretted her word choice again. Pretend? That wasn't quite right. But it would have to do. She had to finish getting the story across to her daughter. "Sweetie, your dad is gay." Liz looked down at Caroline who seemed very confused. She was trying to comprehend, but it was so much for her little mind to take in, especially so late at night. "Caroline, do you understand what I'm saying?"

"No," Caroline admitted. "But that doesn't matter. Please just tell me. Why were you fighting?" She begged her mom to_ really_ answer her question, not just avoid it. She was tempted to sit up and face her mother, but lying there was so comfortable, so she remained under the covers.

"I... I only found out that your dad is gay tonight," Liz told her, tears starting to form in her eyes. She tried to keep her voice steady and blinked to try to get rid of the tears. "I was just upset. I... I wish he'd told me years ago, that's all," she told her daughter.

Caroline looked up at her mom and knew that there was more to the story, but she also could sense that she shouldn't ask for any more. She thought about what she'd overheard, and she pieced a bit more of the story together on her own. Her mom didn't need to know how much she knew. So Caroline pretended to be satisfied with that answer, at least for now.

"Okay," Caroline replied, unsure of what else to say at that moment. She wanted to talk to her dad. She hated that he'd just left the house without saying goodbye to her. "When will Daddy be back?" she asked quietly, and Liz's heart broke as she heard the fear in her daughter's voice.

"I'm sure he'll be back tomorrow," Liz answered her with confidence, although truly she had no clue where he went, nor when he planned to return. "Your father loves you very much. Don't _ever_ doubt that. Okay, Sweetie? We both love you with all of our hearts."

"Okay, Mom. I love you too," Caroline replied with a meek smile. Liz smiled back and then leaned over and kissed the golden hair on her daughter's head.

"Sleep tight, darling," she whispered tenderly, and then she turned off Caroline's lamp and left her bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Left alone in the dark, Caroline reached around to find her teddy bear and held him tightly to her chest. She started to cry, and at first she wasn't even sure why. Her tears were silent. Her bear was only a slight comfort. She cried, thinking about her parents and how nothing was ever going to be the same in their whole little family of three again. She dwelled on the thought for a few minutes, but it was late and had been a busy day before all of the drama, so Caroline was quite exhausted. Before long, she stopped thinking about all of these depressing things and stopped crying.

Little Caroline was still hugging her teddy bear when she finally drifted off to sleep that night.


End file.
